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Following is a question by the Hon Mrs Regina Ip and a written reply by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Paul Tang, in the Legislative Council today (December 11):
Question:
Quite a number of public officers have relayed to me that while on duty, they are often provoked by some members of the public using abusive language or obscene gestures. As there is no specific provision under the existing legislation criminalising the act of insulting public officers on duty, they can only put up with such behaviour in silence, which has aroused negative emotions and resulted in very low morale among them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the respective numbers of cases in the past five years in which the authorities invoked section 23 of the Summary Offences Ordinance (Cap. 228), section 63 of the Police Force Ordinance (Cap. 232) and section 36 of the Offences Against the Person Ordinance (Cap. 212) to institute prosecutions against persons who had resisted or obstructed a public officer or police officer in the execution of duty; and among such cases, the number of convictions; and among the conviction cases, the number of those involving defendants who insulted public officers or police officers with abusive language or behaviour;
(b) given that there is an offence of "insult" under the Penal Code of Macao, and the penalty will be heavier if a public officer in execution of duty is the subject of an insult (i.e. "aggravated insult"), whether the authorities will make reference to such legal provisions and study the introduction of legislation to prohibit any act of insulting public officers on duty; if they will not, of the reasons for that;
(c) given that it is currently stipulated in section 139 of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132) that "any person who wilfully obstructs, resists, or uses abusive language to, any person acting in the execution of his duties under [this] Ordinance, or under any order or warrant made or issued thereunder, shall, in any case for which no other provision is made by [this] Ordinance, be guilty of an offence", whether the authorities will consider using this provision as a blueprint and enacting legislation to prohibit the use of abusive language to other public officers on duty; if they will not, of the reasons for that; and
(d) of the training, emotional counselling and support currently provided for frontline public officers in handling situations of being insulted while on duty?
Reply:
President,
(a) The numbers of prosecutions and convictions under section 23 of the Summary Offences Ordinance (Cap. 228), section 63 of the Police Force Ordinance (Cap. 232) and section 36 of the Offences against the Person Ordinance (Cap. 212) from 2008 to 2012 are set out in the Annex.
We do not maintain statistics on the number of cases where public officers were verbally or behaviourally insulted by the accused.
(b)and(c) Under the existing laws of Hong Kong, the mere act of verbally abusing or insulting another person or a public officer does not normally constitute an offence. However, if a person, in the course of verbally abusing or insulting another person or a public officer, goes further to commit certain crimes, such as using threatening, abusive or insulting words against a public officer with intent to provoke a breach of the peace, or whereby a breach of the peace is likely to be caused, the authorities may consider invoking section 17B(2) (Disorder in public places) of the Public Order Ordinance (Cap. 245) to take action against him/her. In addition, if anyone threatens a public officer with any injury to the person, reputation or property of such public officer, with intent to alarm such officer; assaults a public officer; damages any public property; or resists or obstructs a public officer in the performance of his/her public duty, the relevant departments may, depend on the circumstances of the case, consider invoking the following legislation to take action against him/her:
i. section 24 (Certain acts of intimidation prohibited) or section 60 (Destroying or damaging property), Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 200); or
ii. section 36 (Assault with intent to commit offence, or on police officer, etc.), section 39 (Assault occasioning actual bodily harm) or section 40 (Common assault), Offences against the Person Ordinance (Cap. 212); or
iii. section 63 (Penalty on person assaulting, etc. police officer in execution of duty, or misleading officer by false information), Police Force Ordinance (Cap. 232); or
iv. section 23 (Resisting or obstructing a public officer or other person lawfully engaged in a public duty), Summary Offences Ordinance (Cap. 228), etc.
As a matter of course, in determining whether prosecution should be initiated, the authorities should consider the actual circumstances of each case, including the behaviour of the offender and the relevant legislative requirements. We consider that public officers are adequately protected under the existing laws and it is not necessary to enact separate legislation. While we have no plan at the moment to legislate separately against the act of insulting public officers, we will keep the situation in view.
(d) Civil servants are to serve the community and are committed to carrying out their duties with professionalism and efficiency. They should not be subject to abusive and insulting language. We appeal to members of the public to appreciate and respect our colleagues as they discharge their duties impartially and lawfully. The Civil Service Bureau (CSB) will continue to take measures to alleviate stress experienced by colleagues, including the provision of a safe workplace, training courses and hotline counselling service. These will help them handle conflicts, manage stress and maintain emotional well-being for coping with the challenges in their work. Currently, more than 3 000 colleagues attend relevant training courses organised by the Civil Service Training and Development Institute each year. As regards the stress management hotline provided by the CSB, the service includes telephone and face-to-face counselling, referral to appropriate bodies for follow-up, and the provision of relevant thematic seminars. Many departments are also providing suitable counselling services having regard to their operational situation. Furthermore, we will continue to promote the civil service commendation schemes, which give recognition to colleagues with outstanding and dedicated performance, with a view to bringing the message across to the public that civil servants are serving the community with professionalism and impartiality and should deserve respect.
Ends/Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Issued at HKT 14:51
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